Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for many years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the gaming machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning on each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators constantly strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available, because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator.
One method of attracting players to gaming machines is by providing a visual indicator of a potential payout or a visual indicator of a winning outcome. For example, slot machines have reels with a plurality of symbols displayed thereon that rotate to align the symbols relative to a payline according to one of a plurality of different outcomes. As the spinning reels slowly come to rest, the player begins to anticipate the outcome, which increases the entertainment provided to the player of the gaming machine.
Other methods of attracting players to gaming machines is by providing a bonus game in addition to a basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game alone and may be accompanied with more attractive or unusual features including visual features, audible features, or both. An example of a gaming machine having a unique visual payout indicator is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/341,110, entitled “Gaming Machine Having a Pendulum-Based Payout Indicator,” which was filed on Jan. 13, 2003 and is assigned to the assignee of the present application. Another example of a gaming machine having a unique visual payout indicator is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/442,389, entitled “Gaming Machine Having a Plurality of Moveable Elements for Indicating a Game Outcome,” which was filed on May 20, 2003 and is assigned to the assignee of the present application. Because the visual payout indicator and the bonus game concepts have tremendous advantages in terms of player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming machines and gaming terminals with new types of bonus games, visual indicators, or both, to satisfy the demands of players and operators.